


That Sucks, Dude

by lavenderlotion



Series: Short, Sweet, SFW Saturday [11]
Category: Glee
Genre: Coming Out, Confessions, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-25 00:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20367922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion
Summary: "We aren't friends," Kurt points out."Well okay. How about a date then? Breadstix and a movie, or is that not fancy enough for ya?"





	That Sucks, Dude

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Leviice458](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leviice458/gifts).

> From the Tumblr prompt: _”Kurt and Puck fluff like getting together or something idk just anything fluffy”_ which also happened to work with one of my Glee ideas. 
> 
> Set during S1, E9.

It's late. Kurt has no reason to still be loitering around the school, but he can't quite bring himself to leave. Not when his dad is at home waiting for him, no doubt ready to celebrate, excited for Kurt because his dad believes in him, thinks he should get a chance, says that no one pushes the Hummels around. It's not true, of course, but Kurt isn't going to tell his dad about what happens at school. Getting pushed around is far better than being beaten to death.

Defending himself isn't worth his life.

The auditorium is dark. The only light comes from the little spots of orange that line the rows of chairs and the edge of the stage. Kurt can't see much, though there is a bit of a glow from the illuminated “Exit” sign at the back of the stage. It's peaceful. The room is so big and so empty that Kurt can pretend nothing that happened in Glee is real, that it was all some awful dream and that he doesn't have to go home and disappoint his dad.

It's not true, and Kurt knows this, but he's always been pretty good at pretending when he's needed to. Lately, it feels like disappointing his dad is all he does. They have nothing in common, and while that's something Kurt has always been painfully aware of, he's felt even more isolated lately. It's like since he's come out, since his sexuality became real and not just something they both knew but neither of them talked about, there's been distance between them that Kurt doesn't know how to get past.

He begins to hum. Not loudly, but the rhythm is soothing. This song has always meant something special to him, an expression of so many things he's felt over years spent being ridiculed for something he can't change, something that he has no control over.  _ You can't bring me down _ is an anthem he's lived his life to, keeping his head held high and his chin tipped back when he wanted nothing more than to give up.

Kurt's not even sure when he starts singing, but between one breath and the next he's belting the song out, putting everything in it as his eyes burn with hot tears. His voice soars through the chorus and Kurt knows that he sounds good. He is talented, no matter what Rachel or Mr. Shue seems to think. As his voice continues to grow in volume it rises in pitch, and he holds the high F for six beats longer than he needs to, his arms thrown out away from his sides as tears he rarely allows to fall track a warm line down his cheeks.

He finishes the song quietly, his arms coming up to wrap around his waist. He doesn't feel any better, singing alone to an empty room. The next breath he takes shakes through him, rattling through his chest weakly. Kurt knows he can hit the note. His dad knows he can hit the note. It should be enough, but there is still a hollow pit of disappointment in his chest that feels familiar after so many years of being pushed down.

Applause rings out through the silence, and Kurt jumps so badly he nearly falls. He gasps out a surprised breath, his eyes zeroing in on the noise and trying to make out the person it's coming from. In the dark, all he can tell is that it's a boy, and his entire body locks up in fear before they begin talking. “That was fucking great, dude!”

“Don't call me dude,” he snaps instinctually, stumbling back a half step in shock. Noah Puckerman is the absolute last person he expected to be in the auditorium this late after school, and he has to hold himself still to stop himself from flinching when the other boy steps towards the stage.

“Fine, fine. What was that, Hummel?” Puck asks, pulling himself up onto the edge of the stage. He turns his head towards Kurt, but he thankfully doesn't move any closer. Being in an empty auditorium after school hours with Noah Puckerman is terrifying enough without the other boy getting any closer than he already is.

“That was me singing,” Kurt says as sarcastically as he can.

“Well no shit, Sherlock. Why the hell didn't you beat Berry? You’re way better than she is!” Noah sounds genuine. The compliment, from a male other than his dad, makes his cheeks feel warm enough that he's glad it's so dark.

Kurt bites into his bottom lip and let's silence reign. For several minutes he stands there without saying anything. He knows why, of course, but he's not sure he wants to give that much ammunition to someone who spent so many years making his life horrible.

But, when he really thinks about it, Puck hasn't done anything to him since he joined Glee. That doesn’t mean Kurt trusts him, but it would be nice to tell  _ someone. _ He already knows he’s going to tell his dad that Rachel won. 

Taking a deep breath, Kurt wraps his arms tighter around his torso and tells himself he's  _ not _ going to start crying. “My dad got another phone call,” Kurt tells him. Puck makes a questioning noise and Kurt takes a deep breath before he continues. “It was some anonymous asshole telling him that I'm a fag. Not like he doesn't know, everyone knows but...I can't make it worse for him. If I get up on stage and sing a song sung by a woman...” Kurt trails off, blinking quickly when a line of heat trails down his cheek. He wipes the tear away quickly, doing his best to breathe deeply until he’s calmed down. 

“Wow, that sucks dude.” Kurt doesn't protest the name. Really, he just doesn't have the energy. If Puck wants to sit with him in an empty auditorium and call him dude, Kurt isn't going to care. Which, actually, “Why are you here?”

Silence reigns between them and Kurt doesn't know how to break it. Honestly, he's no stranger to silence, not when he's grown up with a dead parent and another who works too much to cover the bills, but it doesn't feel as comfortable when there's someone else occupying it with him.

“You can keep a secret, right?”

Kurt snorts and rolls his eyes. He moves to the edge of the stage and carefully sits down, hesitant at getting so close to someone wearing a letterman jacket. “Despite what some people might think, yes.”

Puck nods, but he doesn't say anything right away. It's when Kurt thinks Puck's just not going to say anything at all that the taller boy huffs a sigh that sounds just as heavy as Kurt feels. “I'm the Dad.”

“Wait like... _ the dad _ the dad?” Kurt asks, looking at Puck from the corner of his eye. Puck nods, and Kurt catches the way he's picking at his cuticle. Not knowing what to say but wanting to break the heavy tension, he drops his voice to its lowest register and says, “Wow, that sucks dude.”

It's silent for a long moment before Puck breaks out laughing. The other boy’s laugh is a loud, full-bodied chuckle that causes him to throw his head back and clutch his stomach. Kurt can't help but join in, giggling alongside Puck's laughter.

“You're secretly hilarious, aren't you?” Puck asks him. He leans over, and before Kurt can flinch away in fear the other boy is knocking their shoulders together gently.

“It's not a secret,” Kurt says quietly.

“No, I bet it's not.” Puck hums but doesn't say anything else right away. They sit together in a silence that's becoming more and more comfortable as it drags on. After the last bit of Puck's laughter dies down and they're both sitting there quietly, Puck asks, “You wanna do something?”

“What?” Kurt asks incredulously, sounding confused even to his own ears.

“Do you wanna hang out?” Puck clarifies, but it really doesn't do much to make Kurt any less confused.

“We aren't friends,” Kurt points out. It's blunt, he knows, but Puck has barely even  _ talked _ to him before, let alone ask him to hang out. Honestly, it feels even more like he's dreaming than it did before, sitting next to a boy who's bullied him for so long, asking to hang out with him.

“Well okay. How about a date then? Breadstix and a movie, or is that not fancy enough for ya?”

It sounds mocking, but Kurt...doesn't think it is. At least, not about the date part. “Again, what?” he chokes out, his throat feeling like it's closing up around his words as his heart rate kicks up.

“What what? I'm bi, since we're apparently telling each other our secrets, and you're secretly funny and not so secretly hot, so. Wanna go out? We don't gotta do Breadstix.”

Kurt doesn't say anything. He can't, not when it feels like the world is turning upside down and inside out at the same time. Nothing that has happened since he entered the auditorium has made any sense but...he knows he isn't dreaming. And if he's not dreaming, it could all be a joke, but when he looks over at catches the look on Puck's face as he stares down at his hands—he doesn't think it is.

“No breadstix,” he says quietly, taking a huge breath and letting it fill his chest. “How about you take me on your dream first date, and if it goes well, tomorrow I'll take you on mine?”

“Wait, seriously?” Puck asks. Kurt's never really spoken to him, yes, but the excitement in Puck's voice is impossible to miss. Kurt nods, reaching over and softly touching the back of Puck's hand. The other boy immediately stops picking at his skin and grabs Kurt's hand in his own, turning to him with a smile that's far prettier than Kurt has ever allowed himself to notice before. “Hell yeah!”

Kurt shakes his head, but as Puck twines their fingers together, it's impossible to hold down his smile.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are much appreciated!   
come say hi to me on [tumblr](https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/)!


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